A network router may provide service to a network. Service may include, for example, routing, caching, voicemail, and security. The hardware and/or software that provide the service may be disposed on network blades, which may be connected to the router. A network administrator may add and/or remove one or more network blades to customize the service provided by the router.
The service blade may be inserted into a network chassis of the network router. The network chassis is sized to receive the network blade. As network router technology has developed, the size of the network chassis has increased to accommodate larger network blades. For example, the width of the network chassis has increased to accommodate wider network blades. However, the old service blades, which were sized for the older network chassis, no longer fit into the network chassis.